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Trends in Personal Marketing: Maximize Pinterest for your Business

by Kaira Rouda

Ideas for Maximizing Pinterest for your Business Success

"At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are, and you know what you want." - Lao Tzu

Personal marketing – also known as "tooting your own horn" – doesn't need to be painful or complex, even with the explosion of social media options. The key to getting the most return on your investment in yourself is to clearly define who you are and then utilize the social media venues you are most comfortable with to spread your message.

It all starts with you. You are unique – one of a kind. When is the last time you defined yourself? Not as a real estate professional – and not as a mom, grandmother or wife. Not as a reflection of someone else, but you, as a person.

When is the last time you sat down and thought about your goals? Your dreams. What is working, what is missing. Can you define yourself in one word?

The next step is to remember your passions. Are you a sailor, a reader, a gardener, a traveler, a cook, an actor, a singer, a mom, a golfer, a fashionista, a community volunteer and a REALTOR®? What are the activities you do that make you wake up with a smile on your face, anxious to start the day? Hopefully, real estate is one of them!

Those are your passions. Embrace them. They are a crucial element of your personal brand. Vision boards are a great way to define and visualize your personal brand. And guess what? You can create that board and so much more on my favorite new social media platform, Pinterest.

Are you pinning yet? Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media sites for good reason. It's a platform providing visualization to keywords. Twitter with photos. Facebook simplified, to hold only photos. I wouldn’t really compare it to LinkedIn simply because, to me, that's a resume site, which is great for connections and a necessary horn-tooter but not a visual, creative medium.

Tactically speaking, I cannot think of a more exciting venue to promote your personal brand – your take on your particular customer base and area of influence than Pinterest. It's visual, and we're in a visual medium. It's aspirational: a place for dreams – and in real estate that's what you're selling.

Start by making boards about you and your passions. If you are a great cook, then "pin" recipes. Love decorating? Pin away. Is your passion for gardening the talk of the town? Get to it.

Next, turn to your customer and her dream of the perfect home. Why not show it? Think about your farm. What are the housing types? What are the interests of your target audience? Do your clients and prospects include families with school-aged kids in the Midwest? Well, you have no excuse to not be pinning. Pinterest usage is highest among women in the Midwest (but growing everywhere).

Create boards with beautiful listing photos representing the best in what you represent. Create a board of special neighborhood spots and events. Create away, as long as the boards are true to you and your personal brand (you, your passions) and your target audience's. (I'm assuming you know who she, right?)

The key to Pinterest and any social media is to understand your personal brand and then communicate to your target audience as yourself. Clearly. If you haven't yet, define yourself in one word. Know your passions. These are your personal brand's keywords. These words should appear in your personal marketing whether it is print, digital or video.

These words should reflect what you pin and be included as you pin. These words – your words – should be in what you tweet and how you treat people. These words are you. Your brand.

And for those of you who have gone through the workshop or book with me, don't forget you aren't static. You are a work in progress, and those words need updating over time. Now go, take some time to bring yourself to life through words and bring those words to life through images on your Pinterest board. Have fun!Kaira Rouda is brand consultant for Real Living Real Estate and the author of new beach read, All The Difference, as well as Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs. She is a social media addict and would love for you to follow her on Twitter, Facebook and of course Pinterest. For more about personal branding, please visit her website www.kairarouda.com.

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